Improved machinery for puddling iron and steel



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T. HARRISON.

Puddl ing Machine 4 No. 43,067. Patented June 7,-1864,

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Puddli'ng Machine.

No. 43,067. Patented June 7, 1864.

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, I Puddling Machine No. 43,067. Patented June 7, 1864.

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W 1 J WZW I I V UNrrEn TATES ATENT Urine THOMAS HARRISON, OF TUDHOE, ENGLAND.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 413,067, dated June 7, 1864.

.To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS HARRISON, of Tudhoe, near Ferry Hill, in thecounty of Durham, England, mechanical engineer, a sub ject of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in Machinery for Puddling Iron and Steel; and I, the said THOMAS HARRISON, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and bythe following statement thereof-that is to say:

This invention consists in an improved method of applying mechanical power to the process of puddling iron and steel as a substitute for and auxiliary to manual labor. It has before been proposed, in puddling iron, to use apparatus consisting, in part, of a combination of wheels, levers, and cranks, which were to be put in motion by any convenient prime mover, and whereby it was proposed to impart a compound motion longitudinally and transversely to the puddling-tool. The apparatus was exceedingly complex and its operation imperfect and unsuccessful.

Now, my invention has for its object the simplification and perfection of that which has heretofore failed; and it consists in an improved method of imparting by mechanical means motion laterally and transversely to the puddling-tool, such lateral and transverse motion being produced simultaneously, being continuous, and also, as regards the transverse motion, being reversible by means of selfacting gear.

Figure l is a side view, Fig. 2 a front view, Fig. 3 a back View, and Fig. 4. a plan, of the apparatus which I employ.

It will be seen that instead of obtaining the requisite power from a separate prime mover and transmitting the same through wheels or pulleys, as was before suggested, I construct a small engine and apply its power directly to the apparatus. The engine consists of a cylinder, a, and piston, with suitable valves of any approved kind, and it may be worked either by steam, by compressed or heated air, or by water; but I prefer water whenever it can be obtained economically at a suitable pressure. The engine is placed immediately over or upon the roofing of the paddling-furnace b and in a line with the center of the' furnace-door b. It is mounted on a pivot, c, in such manner that the cylinder a may be turned round horizontally upon its center to any required angle. To the sides or cylinder of the engine a bracket or projecting arm, (I, is at tached, of such dimensions that its extremity will overhang the front of the furnaceb. From the point of the proj ecting arm d a bar, e, is suspended, (which I call the suspension-rod,) of such length that its lower extremity will hang opposite the working-hole b of the furnace-door. attached to a connecting rod, f, lying in the same line, and the end of which is connected by a pin or other coupling, or a parallel motion, to the suspension-rod 6, so that when the engine is put in motion the suspension-rod will be made to vibrate to and fro. The lower end of the suspension-rod e, which hangs before the Working-hole in the furnace-door, is provided with a hook, c, or it may be a ring or cross-bar, upon which the outer end of the puddlingtool g is made to rest, and by which it is retained in its proper position, the other end of the tool being introduced into the furnace 1) among the melted metal. The vibratory motion of the suspension-rod thus communicates a corresponding motion to the tool 9, which is made to work backward and forward on the hearth or bottom of thefurnace. This is the longitudinal motion. The pivot c, on which the cylinder rests, is surrounded by a worm-whee1, h, and a double-threaded worm, 2', gears therewith. The bearings of this worm are fixed to the cylinder. 70 is a ratchet-wheel on the axis of the worm. It is driven by the lever Z, mounted loosely on the same axis, and receiving motion from the rod m, which, at its farther end, is pin-jointed to the suspensionrod 6. 7 n a are pawls carried by a pin on the lever Z, and furnished with a tumbling-weight, 0, which acts constantly to press one or other of the pawls into the teeth. When the weight is on one side of its pin or axis, it keeps one pawl in action, and when on the other side the other pawl, so that the direction in which the worm i is rotated is reversed bythrowing over the weight 0 from one side to the other. This is conveniently done by a tappet, 0, upon it, with which a finger, p, on the axis of the worm comes in contact when the motion is to be reversed.

The finger 1) may be fast upon its axis, as

The piston-rod a of the engine is the drawings show; or, if a longer range of motion be required, the finger may be arranged to turn freely on its aXis for a portion of a revolution, and then to come against a stop. Similarly, any desired length of motion may be obtained; or a circular detent-wheel or ratchet with pawls may be substituted for the worm-wheel h, and then at each stroke of the piston the pawls are raised and the detent-wheel or ratchet made to move forward one tooth. By this means the cylinder a is caused to rotate horizontally on its pivot c, carrying along with it the projecting arm (1, suspensionrod 6, and tool 9, and thus transverse motion is imparted to the tool simultaneously with the longitudinal motion, and thereby every part of the bottom of the furnace b is successively brought under its operation. The cylinder a is permitted to describe a segment of a circle sufficiently large to allow the tool 9 to travel the whole of the furnace-bottom, and on arriving at either extremity the action .of the pawls in the detent-wheel or ratchet is reversed, as described, or by any approved method commonly used by machinists for pro ducing self -acting reversible motion. The valve is conveniently worked by a projection, in, on the rod m coming against tappets q (1 on the valve-rod.

The form of the puddling-furnace may, if desired, be modified and the size increased so as to receive a working-tool on each side alternately, in which case both ends of the piston-rod must be furnished with a connectingrod, suspension-rod, and projecting arm, as above described.

In some cases, when it 1s not convenient to place the engine on the roof of the furnace, it

if preferred, to an intermediate bar, a suspenvsion-rod, or a parallel motion.

The metal may be melted, in the usual manner, in a separate furnace, and after being worked and stirred by the tools until it comes to nature it is to be balled and withdrawn from the furnace by manual labor, in the manner commonly practiced.

My invention applies only to the facilitating of that part of the process of puddling which can be done while the iron is in a fluid or semifluid state.

lVhat I claim is The mounting the cylinder a, which gives motion to the tool on a center or pivot, 1/7- and combining therewith apparatus, substantially as described, for gradually turning the cylinder a to and fro on its center or pivot 0, so that the tool 9 mayin each successive stroke pass over a different course on the bed of the furnace b.

' THOMAS HARRISON. Vitnesses:

Isimo PALLINSON, J r.,

\VM. FEN RAEBURN. 

